


The Ridge[[DISCONTINUED]]

by intothemidnightblue



Series: Alternative Pine [1]
Category: Funhaus (Video Blogging RPF), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Sugar Pine 7 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Horror, Gen, might be scifan horror, tis the season to be tagging, too many cibs cause apparently this is a wrangler free zone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 21:39:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13132755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intothemidnightblue/pseuds/intothemidnightblue
Summary: The beginning of the Alternative Pine worlds.Do you believe in fate?Or is this all just some cosmic coincidence...





	The Ridge[[DISCONTINUED]]

**Author's Note:**

> I love getting to refer to things vaguely as "the company." i love referring to things vaguely in general.  
> this is going to update /very/ slowly.  
> autumn is ooc because she doesnt have a personality yet in the show when i created this lol  
> this whole thing is ooc cause it's an alternate universe. also everyone's a bit older, this takes place _after_ , in a general sense. Whenever now is, it doesn't take place until later.

 

 Better in Autumn

 

> _Do you believe in fate?_
> 
> _Or is this all just some cosmic coincidence..._

* * *

 

 

“My grandfather always loved autumn here,” Autumn looked on at the house nostalgically, voice tinged with something a bit closer to melancholy or dread. 

“I always thought it was weird the way you talked about your childhood home, I guess you were talking about this place,” Steven glanced up at the large building, far more engrossed in getting the first round of luggage out of the car. Cib was already inside, looking through every room in childlike glee. Steve was looking forward to doing the same, exploring new places was fun, and something he’d rather be doing that lugging bags around for everyone to carry.

“My fondest memories were here,” Autumn mused, grabbing an amount of bags that was quite impressive for her stature. Steve grabbed as many of his own bags as he could, a bit put off at how easy Autumn made it seem. He followed her to the door, finding Cib waiting for them.

“Your granddad must have been loaded, dude.This place is huge. Does it even count as a condo anymore?” Cib asked as he held the door for his struggling friends.

“It follows the same floor plan as the condos, just with more walls knocked out and a few small differences. I don’t think it counts as a condo anymore,” Autumn answered, filing into the main room and dropping her stuff unceremoniously. “Okay,” she breathed out in satisfied relief, “Parker and Jeremy are out right now, but they already took over the first floor. The second floor is pretty similar to this, master bedroom on the right, two other bedrooms on the left. It also has a kitchen, although it’s much smaller.”

“Are you going to want help getting your stuff to the third floor?” Steve asked politely. Autumn shook her head no.

“I still can’t believe we’re all staying together...” Cib looked thoughtful, leaning on the closed front door.

“It weird that we all ended up around the same town, but like, it makes sense for the way everything fell into place. What I can’t believe is that you just happened to have a place here, at a fancy resort of all places,” Steve raised his eyebrows at Autumn.

“It’s not as cool as you think it is once you live here. To be honest, I didn’t even know this house was in my name until Cib mentioned which school him and James were going to. I asked my parents if this place was still around and before I knew it they were handing me a deed and enough money to keep this place paid for until I’m forty,” Autumn explained, “I just thought with all the space, I might as well offer everyone a room. If I didn’t get at least four other roommates, there’s no way I would have kept the place.”

“If everything’s paid for, why are we paying you rent?” Cib pouted, though it wasn’t a serious complaint. They were practically paying pennies to live here.

“I’m not letting you guys squat in my home, and I’m already expecting to have to deal with damages from whatever rough housing you guys will get into,” Autumn threw a key at Cib, “go get your shit.”

And with that, they were all moving. Autumn handed another key to Steven as he was heading up the stairs. The second floor was incredibly similar to the first, with maybe a little more of an open floor plan. Steven grabbed the master bedroom before Cib could weasel his way in. It wasn’t that much different than the other rooms, except with slightly more space and a fancier bathroom. The room directly across from him also had an on suite bathroom, so it was most likely where Cib was going to hole up.

“Did you check out the balcony yet?”Cib asked as he lugged suitcases up the small steps.

“Not yet,” Steve answered, glancing at the door to the porch. He glared suspiciously at Cib, expecting some kind of prank or evil plan, before pulling open the glass door to their balcony. Luckily, or maybe disappointingly, nothing jumped out at him or looked out of place. It was just a nice view, the other normal condos across the lake making it seem as if they were all stacked upon one another. To the left of them was the winding road that led to the hotel buildings. Along the road to the right was the other more privately owned buildings, according to the lady they talked to at the front desk. He was given a map, he should probably look at it. God knows he’s going to need it these first few days. GPS stopped at the front gate, and everyone who saw you coming in made sure you were doubly aware of it, given it was the bane of everyone’s existence for the first few months.

“Boo!” Cib’s voice surprised him as hands came up to tickle Steven’s sides, pretending as if they were going to push him off. Steve covered his visible shock by twisting to the side, leaning into Cib with enough force to knock him back, catching himself on the edge of the half wall separating them from the two story drop before he toppled backward as well. Cib wasn’t expecting retaliation, and dropped surprisingly easy.

“I’m too smart for you,” Steven laughed as he helped his friend off the ground. “I still surprised you, therefore it’s a win,” Cib shoved him in a gentle form of retaliation before heading back inside after dodging Steven’s playful kick. “I’m going to call Sami Jo, careful of my guitar when you get out the red bag from the back of the car,” Cib said with a wave as he closed the sliding glass door, mischievously pretending to lock it. Steven watching him leave to what would be Cib’s room, busily tapping on his phone. Leaving Sami Jo behind was the hardest part for him, but she couldn’t leave and he was already set on school. Autumn let her know that there would always be room for her here whenever she wanted.

Steven found it surprisingly easy to leave Alyssa behind, if only for the fact that, unlike his friends who had their lives together as stably as they could after what happened, Steven Suptic did not. No, he was still torn in two over everything, still struggling to realize how far away they were from LA and everything he knew. While everyone else came for new beginnings, he came to escape. This was his midlife crisis- or quarter life crisis, though you never know with how much he smoked.

Quietly, he went back into the house just as he heard the sound of Autumn’s balcony door opening. He plodded downstairs with heavy feet, not that it mattered with all the movement in the house. Cib was pacing loudly in his room, and Steve could here clanging from the kitchen announcing the arrival of their other housemates.

“Hey! There’s Steven! Where’s your shadow?” Parker hailed him as he turned the last corner of the stairway.

“Cib’s on the phone, he’ll probably be back down for a fetchquest in a few minutes. Nice to see you guys again,” Steven let himself be pulled in for a hug from Parker and a rough pat on the back from Jeremy. “How did your day go? Did you figure out what kind of chairs you can afford or are the patrons just going to sit on the floor now?” Steven joked.

“Nah, we found what we needed,” Jeremy gave him a thumbs up. Parker finally let him go, moving to finish whatever he had decided to cook. Jeremy was sitting on a chair at the island, perfectly positioned to be a nuisance to Parker’s work. It was funny to see the way they got along, especially out of the company setting.

“Is Andrew coming by today? He said he wanted to drive down and see how we were settling in, I didn’t know if he meant today or tomorrow,” Steven questioned.

“He’s coming later today, Man I wish he was closer, it would be so cool having all of us together under one roof,” Parker gushed. Steven laughed, “I think there’s enough of us in here as it is. Plus, do you really think he won’t be here every weekend, mooching off our food and good will?”

“I wouldn’t expect less,” Parker shook his head in amusement. Moving his concoction to the beeping oven. Jeremy called out a number that meant nothing to Steven as Parker nodded and tapped it into the number pad. Steven watched their domesticity curiously, seeing how accustomed they were to their environment and themselves. They had moved in first, offered the place along with Cib and James as soon as Autumn found out she owned it. James had moved in with Parker and Jeremy, though he wasn’t here right now, having been pulled away by something no one was allowed to ask about. By the way he had acted on the phone, someone was not happy about what went down.

Steven went out as soon as he heard Cib take the stairs too many at a time. He had a few more bags in his car, most of his stuff either staying with Alyssa or heading up in the moving van carrying what was left of their company. They hadn’t needed to worry about furniture, which was lucky. Autumn had someone come in and clean before they got there, and apparently part of her parent’s upkeep of the house involved keeping the furniture up to date, as the televisions were at most, five years old and the alarm was newly installed. Some of the furniture had obviously been redone or replaced in the last ten years.

His bed was relatively new as well, Steven noted as he set his stuff down. He would unpack later, too many knick knacks and sentiments to dig through when he was already in a sour mood. Instead, he plopped himself on his bed with a sigh, glaring at the off-coloured ceiling. He heard Autumn moving furniture above him, Cib shouting possible café names one floor down and Parker and Jeremy adding their own unserious ones to the mix. The house was alive around him, everyone else clearly on their way to being happily settled. Steven was the only one out of place, glancing at the walls as if they held secrets he wasn’t allowed to know, wondering if the shadows were judging him. He needed air, he needed to breathe. He needed to calm down from whatever panic he had been forcing down ever since his company had been torn to shreds.

 

That’s how he found himself down a winding footpath in the winter cold with little more than long sleeves and a sweatshirt. He shivered, the cold uncomfortable but not unbearable. He glanced around for the picnic clearing he found on the map, noting the sign a little ways away. It had to be close. He almost didn’t notice he was being followed, the click of a branch breaking under human feet a little ways behind him spreading adrenaline across his body. He listened, and sure enough, someone was following, syncing their quieter steps to his uncaring ones.

It shouldn’t be surprising that someone else wasn’t around. The trail was open to everyone on the resort, and the place was pretty busy for the winter. The fact that whoever it was was obviously trying to hide their presence is what unnerved him. He didn’t slow his pace, pretending as if he hadn’t noticed, although he did hold his phone tighter, prepared to make an emergency call if need be. He took his time looking at the sign, listening for any approaching steps. He had pinpointed around where the sound was coming from, which had stopped as soon as he had. Whoever it was, they were definitely after him.

In a moment of panic, he made the choice to divert from his previous path. The sign had been at the beginning of a fork, One going to the picnic clearing, the other leading down to private property. Steven guessed he might have the most luck where there was more likely going to be people, and maybe the private property sign would be enough to scare away whoever was following him.

It was a pretty foreboding sign, enough to ward off the casual passerby. Steve just hoped his stalker had a weak constitution.

He followed the path with a brisker pace, pretending he knew the place well. He could hear those footsteps behind him, getting closer than he was comfortable with. Finally, he could see a cabin, though he was heavily disheartened by the state of it. The thing was worn and unkept, but it was the safest bet Steven was willing to take right now. He pulled out his phone, already unlocked and ready to dial Cib from his favourites list. The stalker picked up its pace as soon as Steven brought the phone out of his pocket, and Steven’s fear-addled brain finally snapped.

He clicked Cib’s name, turned off the screen and bolted for the cabin. Fear flooding through his veins wanted him to think whoever was behind him had grown bigger, and closer, and monstrous, but Steven could only shove that thought from his mind and focus on running the hell away. He reached the cabin in a sprint that must have beaten world records, yanking the door open and slamming it shut behind him, hearing the old-style lock slide into place just from the force of the movement. He glanced out the window and practically pissed himself at what was looking back at him.

The thing was obviously not human, yet it had determinately human features. It looked inky black in the night, although Steven could almost swear it was mid afternoon. The edges of it seemed to swirl with dark particles, as if the whole creature was made out of static and sand. It’s face was too long, it’s body was too short, it’s arms were too welcoming and warm. Steven could feel it’s pull, and didn’t even notice he had taken a few steps towards the window. He slammed his back into the door in the force of his backpedal when he realized what he was doing. At closer inspection, the thing had terrifying claws for fingers. They were spread along the window, scratching along it in an effort to corm a strain to crack the glass. It was only a matter of time. The creature was obviously smart, but also wrought with a hunger. If Steven had a view of its mouth, he would find snapping, dripping, doglike jaws. The creature was practically chimeric.

Steve slid down the door and whimpered in fear, realizing he still had his phone as it tinked on the material of the floor. He finally tore his eyes away from the creature’s purple gaze to check it, crying out in hopelessness as he realized it hadn’t even connected to Cib yet. He cursed loudly, wondering what possessed them all to move somewhere with such terrible cell service when Steven was clearly about to die. He couldn’t even see the screen anymore through his tears. The creature outside howled, snapping Steven’s attention to it, only to find it had abandoned the window. Steven sucked in a breath as the creature audibly made its way around the cabin. In a moment of lucidity, he scrambled up and away from the door, turning a corner and slamming open and shut the first door he could find. He spun around to take note of where he was going to die, surprised to find stairs leading impossibly downward.

Everything inside himself screamed for him to get out and away from these steps, but then the monster broke through the door and all Steven could think about was the fact that he would die if he didn’t move, and so he ran. He ran and tripped and ran some more until he reached a door at the bottom and even then, he barely took notice of it as he yanked it open and pulled it shut with a violent force.

Everything was quiet for a moment as Steven shit his eyes and listened past his shaking breaths for some form of sound, something to tell him where the creature was. After a few moments of silence, he finally opened his eyes again, which were slowly adjusting to the darkness.

 

 

_Oh no._

 

He could feel himself hyperventilating as he took in what he could see of his surroundings. Doors on all sides of a long, wide path reminiscent of the labyrinthine passageways beyond the friendly part of a hospital.

 

He recognized this place.

**Author's Note:**

> my only goal is to be more creative with Sugar Pine 7 than SP7 itself  
> jk im just confrontational and wanna actually write for SP7 
> 
>  
> 
> comments and kudos reminds me this exists  
> find me on tumblr @ [lockewoodandco](http://www.lockewoodandco.tumblr.com)  
> twit @ [ jaceisblue](http://twitter.com/jaceisblue)
> 
> [[DISCONTIUED]]: EDIT  
> tbh this was super enjoyable to write, i had a lot more of this saved for later but I can't take this on at the scale i was planning, and i couldn't shorten it without losing some important pieces i couldn't part with. this would 100% lead to disappointment. even though I've ditched this world, doesn't mean im still not using Alternative Pine & the ideas i had planned, just not in the way i had planned.  
> man i can still picture everything from this fic though, if only i could translate it to words in the way i wanted to, but it was too ambitious.


End file.
